NBA Playoffs Articles - Page 87

The Orlando Magic faced a difficult challenge in their return to the NBA Playoffs, suffering a 97-83 defeat against the Cleveland Cavaliers. This game marked the team’s first playoff appearance since the 2019-20 season, signaling a significant but rocky milestone for the young squad. Cleveland established an early dominance, shooting flawlessly from 3-point range to […]

The Orlando Magic are taking on the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the Eastern Conference NBA Playoffs. The Magic took a crushing 97-83 loss to the Cavs on Saturday afternoon despite having entered the matchup with momentum from the regular season. In reflection, there are two players to analyze for the team’s tough […]

The New York Knicks struck first against the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 1 of their first round series of the NBA Playoffs with a 111-104 win. The Knicks took advantage of a brief absence from Joel Embiid to surge ahead by double digits. While the Sixers fought back, the Knicks were able to hang on […]

The Philadelphia 76ers put up a strong fight but it wasn’t enough to steal a win away from the New York Knicks in Game 1 of their NBA Playoffs series. Joel Embiid suffered an injury scare but was able to return after halftime. Additionally, Tyrese Maxey was stellar, as usual. They’ll aim to get back […]

The Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks began their first-round series on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden. The Sixers rode an emotional rollercoaster due to a Joel Embiid injury scare and, although the big man wasn’t ruled out of the game, lost 111-104. Let’s break down Game 1 between the 76ers and the Knicks. […]

The Phoenix Suns dropped their opening game against the young Minnesota Timberwolves and now things have gone Defcon 5 for Kevin Durant and Coach Frank Vogel’s team. Devin Booker played solid basketball in Game 1, but solid isn’t going to be enough to get it done against Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert and a marauding pack […]

The Minnesota Timberwolves struck first in the first round of the NBA Playoffs agains the Phoenix Suns with a dominating 120-95 win on Saturday. This was one series where many fans and media felt like the lower seed could pull off an upset. But the Timberwolves made a huge statement behind budding superstar Anthony Edwards. […]

The Phoenix Suns arrived at the Target Center with momentum, plenty of postseason experience and three players who can absolutely dissect defenses. Needless to say, fans expected their Game 1 matchup with the Minnesota Timberwolves to be a competitive affair. Things turned ugly in the second half, though, in more ways than one. Grayson Allen […]

Philadelphia 76ers star big man Joel Embiid went down with a worrisome injury late in the second quarter of Saturday night’s NBA Playoff game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Embiid completed a highlight dunk after passing the ball off the glass and catching it himself before going down and grabbing his […]

The Boston Celtics won’t have a spotless injury report for Game 1 of their first-round playoff series against the Miami Heat, as center Luke Kornet will sit with a right calf strain. Kornet played in Boston’s final game of the regular season, making this update a bit of a surprise. In that last outing this […]

The Minnesota Timberwolves are running away with Game 1 against the Phoenix Suns. Things got out of hand quickly in the second half after Anthony Edwards went on an absolute tear. At one point, Edwards began trash-talking Kevin Durant, and it has fans losing their minds. This wasn’t the only tough shot Anthony Edwards hit […]

It took a couple of extra games to get the job done, but the New Orleans Pelicans have officially qualified for the 2024 NBA Playoffs. Next up is a date versus the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder. The first-round fight is missing some star power without an injured Zion Williamson, but the series still has the […]

It will be another dreadful path back to the NBA Finals for the Miami Heat as their first playoff series will be against the No. 1 seed in the Boston Celtics. With crucial injuries to the team like Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier, there is already people writing off the Heat, but star Tyler Herro […]

Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard has not been ruled out for Game 1 against the Dallas Mavericks as of this story’s writing. Leonard, who is dealing with a knee injury, is seemingly unlikely to play, however. Now it goes without saying, but the Clippers are obviously a better team when Leonard is on the […]

There have been debates about whether or not there’s a true rivalry between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat, but there’s no denying it now. The two Eastern Conference foes are set to play each other in the NBA Playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons. When they last met in the postseason, […]

The Cleveland Cavaliers are in the early stages of the first-round NBA Playoffs matchup against the Orlando Magic. The Cavs beat the Magic 97-83 in Game 1 on Saturday afternoon after a challenging end to the season.  Cleveland has multiple offensive and defensive weapons to compete with Orlando, which is why they have a chance […]

The Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics meet again in the NBA Playoffs, but in an entirely different situation as while they usually duke it out in the Eastern Conference Finals, this time it is in the first round. Both teams have formed an intense rivalry throughout the years with different sets of players going […]

The Minnesota Timberwolves lost one of their most versatile defenders early in Saturday’s action against the Phoenix Suns. Kyle Anderson was forced to leave Game 1 of the teams’ highly anticipated first-round playoff series early in the second quarter after suffering a hip injury. The injury occurred at the 10:26 mark of the second quarter, […]

The New Orleans Pelicans can be forgiven for breathing a sigh of relief following an NBA Play-In Tournament victory over the Sacramento Kings. They were without an injured Zion Williamson and just one loss away from squandering a 49-win season. Falling short of the NBA Playoffs would have kicked off a long offseason of roster […]

The New Orleans Pelicans had NBA Playoffs goals to start the 2023-24 season. Willie Green’s group was sitting pretty in late March, holding down fourth place in the Western Conference for a few days. A late-season swoop almost destroyed the goodwill built up over the previous six months though the team did secure the final […]

Cleveland Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff joked that the night before his team faced the Orlando Magic in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Playoffs, it was the first time he had slept in a while. Whenever they were asked, the Cavs’ players were just as restless as their coach, wanting to play Orlando immediately […]

We’re set for another exciting NBA Playoffs series as we bring you our betting predictions and picks for this Game 1 matchup in the Western Conference. Play-In Tournament winners and 8-seed New Orleans Pelicans will visit the 1-seed Oklahoma City Thunder in a tight series during the first round. Check out our NBA odds series for our Game 1 […]

For the second consecutive postseason, the Los Angeles Lakers will be tasked with dealing with two-time league MVP Nikola Jokic and his Denver Nuggets. But as the Lakers prepare to face the defending NBA champions, this time in the 1st round as opposed to the Western Conference Finals, they know all too well that The […]

The 2024 NBA Playoffs are officially underway and we’ll be bringing you our betting predictions and picks for every game as we turn our attention towards this first series in the East. Fresh off their Play-In win, the 8-seed Miami Heat will visit the 1-seed Boston Celtics to continue their recent Playoffs rivalry. Check out our NBA odds series […]

The New Orleans Pelicans have done it! After losing Zion Williamson due to injury in their loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, many expected them to lose to a white-hot Sacramento Kings team. However, a resurgent Brandon Ingram propelled the Pels propelled the Pels to a huge win to send them to the playoffs. Now, […]

An old rivalry will be reborn in the 2024 NBA playoffs as the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks square off in the first round. The last time New York and Philadelphia faced off in a playoff series was 1989. Patrick Ewing led his team to a sweep over Charles Barkley and company in the […]

For the 13th time in Erik Spoelstra’s 16 seasons as the head coach of the Miami Heat, the Hardest working, Best conditioned, Most professional, Unselfish, Toughest, Meanest, Nastiest team in the NBA is playoff bound. The fact that the Heat are here yet again is a testament to the work of the many players who […]

It has been 30 years since a team lost all six of their games against a team in a single season without facing that said team in the playoffs. But the Sacramento Kings did just that; the New Orleans Pelicans, in a rare showcase of domination over a single team in a single season, defeated […]

The New York Knicks are in a precarious position. They won 50 games and secured the second-seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. But there is also an on-going debate about their chances of advancing beyond the first-round, which is unusual for a second-seed.  Still the Knicks know better than anyone what they are capable of, […]

In a repeat of last season, the Miami Heat have earned the eight-seed in the Eastern Conference with a victory in the play-in tournament against the Chicago Bulls. This time, however, the Heat won more convincingly. Last season, they had to put up a stellar fourth quarter effort to end up winning by 11, but […]

The Miami Heat have punched their ticket into the NBA Playoffs after beating the Chicago Bulls, 112-91, in the play-in tournament Friday night. However, they now have to face the No. 1 seeded Boston Celtics in the first round as stars Bam Adebayo, Jaime Jaquez Jr. along with Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra talks about […]

As the Orlando Magic gear up for their first NBA Playoff game since the 2019-20 season, they find themselves poised for a strategic showdown against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The series opener is set for Saturday at 1 PM ET at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, promising intense competition and pivotal matchups, particularly involving Orlando’s defensive strategy against […]

DALLAS — The term “X-factor” is often thrown around far too loosely in sports. Of course, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving are superstars for the Dallas Mavericks. Emerging as an X-factor for a sports team, though, often refers to a player who was overlooked and ended up playing a pivotal role. Daniel Gafford and PJ […]

After a phenomenal regular season, the Minnesota Timberwolves are rolling into the 2024 NBA Playoffs with a lot to prove. Their trio of All-Star talents have their resumes on the line. Karl-Anthony Towns has yet to showcase his talent consistently in postseason. Rudy Gobert has narratives to wipe away. Anthony Edwards’ path to superstardom has […]

The Chicago Bulls finished up yet another mediocre season on Friday night as they lost to the Miami Heat in the NBA play-in tournament. It was a disappointing season, so it was fitting for it to end in disappointing fashion. The Bulls got out to a good start in Miami as they hit a few […]

The Miami Heat beat the Chicago Bulls, 112-91, in the NBA Play-in Tournament as they have won the eighth seed and the right to face the No. 1 seeded Boston Celtics in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Noise around the organization was grim with the injury to star Jimmy Butler and the continued […]

The Milwaukee Bucks come into the 2024 NBA Playoffs a far cry from where they began the season. When they added Damian Lillard before the season began, it was thought that with a new Big 3 of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Lillard, the Bucks would be a championship contender. But the Bucks have been […]

For all the x-factors and adjustments, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Round 1 series vs. the Denver Nuggets may simply boil down to what most NBA Playoffs series do: stars. In this case, will LeBron James and Anthony Davis outperform Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray? Including the 2023 Western Conference finals, the Nuggets have won eight […]

The Los Angeles Lakers come into the 2024 NBA Playoffs with a little bit of momentum. After hovering around the 9-11 range for most of the season, they used strong play, and a little help from teams ahead of them, to surge into the 7-8 range in the waining days of the regular season. As […]